Method, apparatus, and system for collecting information about wireless local area network access point

ABSTRACT

A method, an apparatus, and a system for collecting information about a WLAN AP are described. The method includes: a user equipment receives WLAN AP request information from a base station in a Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurement configuration process, collects WLAN AP information according to the WLAN AP request information, and sends the WLAN AP information to the base station, wherein the WLAN AP request information is used to request the UE to report WLAN AP information. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments, by using an MDT measurement configuration process, a UE may collect and report WLAN AP information based on architecture of a mobile communications network. In this way, WLAN AP information can be conveniently collected.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/793,482, filed on Jul. 7, 2015, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2013/070176, filed on Jan. 7, 2013.The afore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communicationstechnologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a systemfor collecting information about a wireless local area network accesspoint.

BACKGROUND

A wireless local area network (wireless local area network, WLAN) is anetwork system established in a wireless manner. By searching for andconnecting to an access point (AP) on a WLAN, a user equipment (UE) thatsupports access to the WLAN may enjoy a broadband Internet serviceconveniently. Currently, in areas with a large population, such as anoffice building, a business center, and a school, a relatively largenumber of WLAN APs have been deployed for user access in someenterprises or schools.

In recent years, as mobile data traffic increases sharply, both abandwidth and a speed of a mobile communications network face increasingchallenges. To ease data traffic load of an existing mobilecommunications network, a telecommunications operator also starts todeploy a large number of WLAN APs progressively. How to optimizecoverage of a wireless local area network and a mobile communicationsnetwork and how to implement convergence and interworking between thewireless local area network and the mobile communications network arebecoming a hot topic of technical researches and have great commercialpotential. Convenient and quick collection of information about adeployed WLAN AP has important meaning for the optimization of WLANcoverage.

In the prior art, an application developer has already developed anapplication for collecting WLAN AP information. When a smart phone runsthe application, information about a nearby WLAN AP is collected, andthe collected WLAN AP information is uploaded to a server of theapplication developer for other users to share and use. However, thismethod requires that a user should install the specific application inthe user's phone, and the collected WLAN AP information is transparentand invisible to a network provided by a telecommunications operator andcannot be used by the telecommunications operator. Currently, atechnical solution for collecting WLAN AP information based onarchitecture of a mobile communications network has not been found yet.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, an apparatus, anda system for collecting information about a wireless local area networkWLAN access point AP, which may conveniently collect information aboutthe WLAN AP based on architecture of a mobile communications network.

The embodiments of the present invention can be specifically implementedby using the following technical solutions:

In a first aspect, a method for collecting information about a wirelesslocal area network access point is provided. The method includes:

sending, by a network device, WLAN AP request information to a basestation in a Minimization of Drive Tests MDT measurement configurationprocess, where the WLAN AP request information is used to request a userequipment UE to report WLAN AP information; and

receiving, by the network device, the WLAN AP information sent from thebase station, where the WLAN AP information is received by the basestation from the UE, and the WLAN AP information is collected by the UEaccording to the WLAN AP request information after the WLAN AP requestinformation sent from the base station is received.

In the method provided in this embodiment of the present invention tocollect information about a wireless local area network access point, aUE may collect and report WLAN AP information based on architecture of amobile communications network and by using an MDT measurementconfiguration process. In this way, WLAN AP information can be collectedconveniently, accurately, and reliably.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the first aspect,

the sending, by a network device, WLAN AP request information to a basestation in an MDT measurement configuration process includes:

sending, by the network device, an MDT measurement activation message toa base station, where the MDT measurement activation message includesthe WLAN AP request information.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect,the MDT measurement activation message includes MDT measurementindication information, where the MDT measurement indication informationis used to instruct the base station to send a logged measurementconfiguration message or a radio resource control RRC connectionreconfiguration message to a UE, and the logged measurementconfiguration message or the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to secondpossible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a third possibleimplementation manner of the first aspect, the receiving, by the networkdevice, the WLAN AP information sent from the base station includes:

receiving, by the network device, a WLAN AP information record sent fromthe base station, where the WLAN AP information record includes the WLANAP information collected by the UE and status information of the UErecorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information.

With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect,the receiving, by the network device, a WLAN AP information record sentfrom the base station includes:

if the base station sends a logged measurement configuration message toa UE, receiving, by the network device, an MDT log sent from the basestation, where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record; or

if the base station sends a RRC connection reconfiguration message to aUE, receiving, by the network device, a measurement report sent from thebase station, where the measurement report includes the WLAN APinformation record.

With reference to any one of the third to fourth possible implementationmanners of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation mannerof the first aspect, the status information of the UE recorded by the UEwhen collecting the WLAN AP information includes one or multiple typesof the following information:

received signal power for the UE to receive the WLAN AP signal,geographic location information of the UE, or collection time for the UEto collect the WLAN AP information.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to fifthpossible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a sixth possibleimplementation manner of the first aspect, the WLAN AP informationcollected by the UE includes one or multiple types of the followinginformation:

a media access control MAC address, a service set identifier SSID, anencryption type, a channel number, a protocol used, or a deployer.

With reference to the sixth possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect,if the WLAN AP information record includes an MAC address of the WLANAP, the method further includes:

establishing or updating, by the network device, a WLAN AP informationrecord database according to the WLAN AP information record and by usingthe MAC address of the WLAN AP included in the WLAN AP informationrecord as a search identifier.

With reference to the seventh possible implementation manner of thefirst aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, when the network device updates a WLAN AP information recorddatabase and if the WLAN AP information record does not include thegeographic location information of the UE, the method further includes:

determining, by the network device, the geographic location informationof the UE according to an established WLAN AP information recorddatabase, where the established WLAN AP information record databaseincludes at least one WLAN AP information record.

With reference to the eighth possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the first aspect,the WLAN AP information record that does not include the geographiclocation information of the UE is recorded as a first WLAN APinformation record, and the UE is a first UE; and the determining, bythe network device, the geographic location information of the UEaccording to an established WLAN AP information record databaseincludes:

searching, by the network device, the established WLAN AP informationrecord database for a second WLAN AP information record by using an MACaddress of a WLAN AP included in the first WLAN AP information record asa search identifier, where the second WLAN AP information recordincludes the MAC address and includes geographic location information ofa second UE; and

if the second WLAN AP information record exists in the established WLANAP information record database, determining, by the network device, thegeographic location information of the second UE included in the secondWLAN AP information record as geographic location information of thefirst UE.

With reference to the ninth possible implementation manner of the firstaspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the first aspect,if the network device also receives an MDT measurement result whenreceiving the first WLAN AP information record, and the MDT measurementresult is obtained by the first UE through MDT measurement, the methodfurther includes:

associating, by the network device, the MDT measurement result with thegeographic location information of the first UE, where the geographiclocation information of the first UE is determined by the network deviceaccording to the established WLAN AP information record database.

In a second aspect, a method for collecting information about a wirelesslocal area network access point is provided. The method includes:

receiving, by a user equipment UE, WLAN AP request information sent froma base station, where the WLAN AP request information is sent from anetwork device to the base station in a Minimization of Drive Tests MDTmeasurement configuration process, and the WLAN AP request informationis used to request the UE to report WLAN AP information;

collecting, by the UE, WLAN AP information according to the WLAN APrequest information; and

sending, by the UE, the WLAN AP information to the base station, so thatthe base station sends the WLAN AP information to the network device.

In the method for collecting information about a wireless local areanetwork access point provided in this embodiment of the presentinvention, a UE may collect and report WLAN AP information based onarchitecture of a mobile communications network and by using an MDTmeasurement configuration process. In this way, WLAN AP information canbe collected conveniently, accurately, and reliably.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the second aspect, the collecting, by the UE, WLAN APinformation according to the WLAN AP request information includes:

performing, by the UE, a WLAN search according to the WLAN AP requestinformation and recording information about a specific WLAN AP amongsearched WLAN APs, where the specific WLAN AP includes a WLAN AP with aspecific deployer or a WLAN AP with a specific service set identifierSSID.

With reference to the second aspect or the first possible implementationmanner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation mannerof the second aspect, performing, by the UE, a WLAN search according tothe WLAN AP request information and recording, so as to collect WLAN APinformation further includes:

further recording, by the UE, status information of the UE whencollecting the WLAN AP information, so as to obtain a WLAN APinformation record, where the WLAN AP information record includes theWLAN AP information collected by the UE and the status information ofthe UE recorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information; and

the sending, by the UE, the WLAN AP information to the base stationincludes: sending, by the UE, the WLAN AP information record to the basestation.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of thesecond aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the secondaspect, the receiving, by a UE, WLAN AP request information sent from abase station includes:

receiving, by the UE, a logged measurement configuration message sentfrom base station, where the logged measurement configuration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information; and

the sending, by the UE, the WLAN AP information record to the basestation includes:

sending, by the UE, an MDT log to the base station, where the MDT logincludes the WLAN AP information record.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of thesecond aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the secondaspect, the receiving, by a UE, WLAN AP request information sent from abase station includes:

receiving, by the UE, a radio resource control RRC connectionreconfiguration message sent from a base station, where the RRCconnection reconfiguration message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation; and

the sending, by the UE, the WLAN AP information record to the basestation includes:

sending, by the UE, a measurement report to the base station, where themeasurement report includes the WLAN AP information record.

With reference to any one of the second to fourth possibleimplementation manners of the second aspect, in a fifth possibleimplementation manner of the second aspect, the status information ofthe UE recorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP informationincludes one or multiple types of the following information:

received signal power for the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographiclocation information of the UE, or collection time for the UE to collectthe WLAN AP information.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first to fifthpossible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a sixthpossible implementation manner of the second aspect, the WLAN APinformation collected by the UE includes one or multiple types of thefollowing information:

a media access control MAC address, a service set identifier SSID, anencryption type, a channel number, a protocol used, or a deployer.

In a third aspect, a method for collecting information about a wirelesslocal area network access point is provided. The method includes:

receiving, by abase station, WLAN AP request information sent from anetwork device in a Minimization of Drive Tests MDT measurementconfiguration process, where the WLAN AP request information is used torequest a user equipment UE to report WLAN AP information;

sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP request information to the UE;

receiving, by the base station, the WLAN AP information sent from theUE, where the WLAN AP information is collected by the UE according tothe WLAN AP request information; and

sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP information to the networkdevice.

In the method for collecting information about a wireless local areanetwork access point provided in this embodiment of the presentinvention, a UE may collect and report WLAN AP information based onarchitecture of a mobile communications network and by using an MDTmeasurement configuration process. In this way, WLAN AP can be collectedconveniently, accurately, and reliably.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the third aspect: the receiving, by a base station, WLAN APrequest information sent from a network device in an MDT measurementconfiguration process includes:

receiving, by the base station, an MDT measurement activation messagesent from the network device, where the MDT measurement activationmessage includes the WLAN AP request information.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the thirdaspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the third aspect,the MDT measurement activation message includes MDT measurementindication information, where the MDT measurement indication informationis used to instruct the base station to send a logged measurementconfiguration message or a radio resource control RRC connectionreconfiguration message to a UE, and the logged measurementconfiguration message or the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information; and

the sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP request information to theUE includes:

sending, by the base station, the logged measurement configurationmessage to the UE according to the MDT measurement indicationinformation; or

sending, by the base station, the RRC connection reconfiguration messageto the UE according to the MDT measurement indication information.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first to secondpossible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a third possibleimplementation manner of the third aspect, the receiving, by the basestation, the WLAN AP information sent from the UE includes:

receiving, by the base station, a WLAN AP information record sent fromthe UE, where the WLAN AP information record includes the WLAN APinformation collected by the UE and status information of the UErecorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information; and

the sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP information to the networkdevice includes:

sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP information record to thenetwork device.

With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the thirdaspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect,if the base station sends the logged measurement configuration messageto the UE according to the MDT measurement indication information, thereceiving, by the base station, a WLAN AP information record sent fromthe UE includes:

receiving, by the base station, an MDT log sent from the UE, where theMDT log includes the WLAN AP information record; and

the sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP information record to thenetwork device includes:

sending, by the base station, the MDT log to the network device.

With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the thirdaspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect,if the base station sends the RRC connection reconfiguration message tothe UE according to the MDT measurement indication information, thereceiving, by the base station, a WLAN AP information record sent fromthe UE includes:

receiving, by the base station, a measurement report sent from the UE,where the measurement report includes the WLAN AP information record;and

the sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP information to the networkdevice includes:

sending, by the base station, the measurement report to the networkdevice.

With reference to any one of the third to fifth possible implementationmanners of the third aspect, in a sixth possible implementation mannerof the third aspect,

the status information of the UE recorded by the UE when collecting theWLAN AP information includes one or multiple types of the followinginformation:

received signal power for the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographiclocation information of the UE, or collection time for the UE to collectthe WLAN AP information.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first to sixthpossible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a seventhpossible implementation manner of the third aspect, the WLAN APinformation collected by the UE includes one or multiple types of thefollowing information:

a media access control MAC address, a service set identifier SSID, anencryption type, a channel number, a protocol used, or a deployer.

In a fourth aspect, a network device is provided, including:

a sending unit, configured to send WLAN AP request information to a basestation in a Minimization of Drive Tests MDT measurement configurationprocess, where the WLAN AP request information is used to request a userequipment UE to report WLAN AP information; and

a receiving unit, configured to receive the WLAN AP information sentfrom the base station, where the WLAN AP information is received by thebase station from the UE, and the WLAN AP information is collected bythe UE according to the WLAN AP request information after the WLAN APrequest information sent from the base station is received.

With the aid of the network device provided in this embodiment of thepresent invention, a UE may collect and report WLAN AP information basedon architecture of a mobile communications network and by using an MDTmeasurement configuration process. In this way, WLAN AP information canbe collected conveniently, accurately, and reliably.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the fourth aspect, that the sending unit is configured to sendWLAN AP request information to a base station in an MDT measurementconfiguration process includes the following:

the sending unit is configured to send an MDT measurement activationmessage to a base station, where the MDT measurement activation messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the fourthaspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect,the MDT measurement activation message includes MDT measurementindication information, where the MDT measurement indication informationis used to instruct the base station to send a logged measurementconfiguration message or a radio resource control RRC connectionreconfiguration message to a UE, and the logged measurementconfiguration message or the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to secondpossible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a thirdpossible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, that the receivingunit is configured to receive the WLAN AP information sent from the basestation includes the following:

the receiving unit is configured to receive a WLAN AP information recordsent from the base station, where the WLAN AP information recordincludes the WLAN AP information collected by the UE and statusinformation of the UE recorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN APinformation.

With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the fourthaspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect,that the receiving unit is configured to receive a WLAN AP informationrecord sent from the base station includes the following:

the receiving unit is configured to receive an MDT log sent from thebase station, where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record;or

the receiving unit is configured to receive a measurement report sentfrom the base station, where the measurement report includes the WLAN APinformation record.

With reference to any one of the third to fourth possible implementationmanners of the fourth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation mannerof the fourth aspect, the status information of the UE recorded by theUE when collecting the WLAN AP information includes one or multipletypes of the following information:

received signal power for the UE to receive the WLAN AP signal,geographic location information of the UE, or collection time for the UEto collect the WLAN AP information.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to fifthpossible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a sixthpossible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the WLAN APinformation collected by the UE includes one or multiple types of thefollowing information:

a media access control MAC address, a service set identifier SSID, anencryption type, a channel number, a protocol used, or a deployer.

With reference to the sixth possible implementation manner of the fourthaspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the fourthaspect, the network device further includes:

a processing unit, configured to, when the WLAN AP information recordincludes an MAC address of the WLAN AP, establish or update a WLAN APinformation record database by using the MAC address as a searchidentifier; and

a memory unit, configured to store the WLAN AP information recorddatabase.

With reference to the seventh possible implementation manner of thefourth aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the fourthaspect, the processing unit is configured to, if the WLAN AP informationrecord does not include geographic location information of the UE,determine the geographic location information of the UE according to anestablished WLAN AP information record database when updating the WLANAP information record database, where the established WLAN APinformation record database includes at least one WLAN AP informationrecord.

With reference to the eighth possible implementation manner of thefourth aspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the fourthaspect, the WLAN AP information record that does not include thegeographic location information of the UE is recorded as a first WLAN APinformation record, and the UE is a first UE; and

that the processing unit is configured to determine the geographiclocation information of the UE according to an established WLAN APinformation record database includes the following:

the processing unit is configured to: search the established WLAN APinformation record database for a second WLAN AP information record byusing an MAC address of a WLAN AP included in the first WLAN APinformation record as a search identifier, where the second WLAN APinformation record includes the MAC address and includes geographiclocation information of a second UE; and

if the second WLAN AP information record exists in the established WLANAP information record database, determine the geographic locationinformation of the second UE included in the second WLAN AP informationrecord as geographic location information of the first UE.

With reference to the ninth possible implementation manner of the fourthaspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect,the processing unit is configured to, if the receiving unit alsoreceives an MDT measurement result when the receiving unit receives thefirst WLAN AP information record, associate the MDT measurement resultwith the geographic location information of the first UE, where thegeographic location information of the first UE is determined by thelocation determining unit according to the established WLAN APinformation record database, and the MDT measurement result is obtainedby the first UE through MDT measurement.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to tenthpossible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in an eleventhpossible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the network deviceis a network management system device, a mobility management entity MME,or a service general packet radio service supporting node SGSN.

In a fifth aspect, a user equipment UE is provided, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive WLAN AP request information sentfrom a base station, where the WLAN AP request information is sent froma network device to the base station in a Minimization of Drive TestsMDT measurement configuration process, and the WLAN AP requestinformation is used to request the UE to report WLAN AP information;

a collecting unit, configured to collect WLAN AP information accordingto the WLAN AP request information; and

a sending unit, configured to send the WLAN AP information to the basestation, so that the base station sends the WLAN AP information to thenetwork device.

The user equipment UE provided in this embodiment of the presentinvention may collect and report WLAN AP information, based onarchitecture of a mobile communications network and by using an MDTmeasurement configuration process. In this way, WLAN AP information canbe collected conveniently, accurately, and reliably.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the fifth aspect, that the collecting unit is configured tocollect WLAN AP information according to the WLAN AP request informationincludes the following:

the collecting unit is configured to perform a WLAN search according tothe WLAN AP request information and record information about a specificWLAN AP among searched WLAN APs, where the specific WLAN AP includes aWLAN AP with a specific deployer or a WLAN AP with a specific serviceset identifier SSID.

With reference to the fifth aspect or the first possible implementationmanner of the fifth aspect, in a second possible implementation mannerof the fifth aspect, the collecting unit is configured to record statusinformation of the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information, so as toobtain a WLAN AP information record, where the WLAN AP informationrecord includes the WLAN AP information collected by the UE and thestatus information of the UE recorded by the UE when collecting the WLANAP information; and

that the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP information tothe base station includes the following:

the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP information record tothe base station.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the fifthaspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect,that the receiving unit is configured to receive WLAN AP requestinformation sent from a base station includes the following:

the receiving unit is configured to receive a logged measurementconfiguration message sent from a base station, where the loggedmeasurement configuration message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation; and

that the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP information tothe base station includes the following:

the sending unit is configured to send an MDT log to the base station,where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record.

With reference to the second possible implementation manner of the fifthaspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect,that the receiving unit is configured to receive WLAN AP requestinformation sent from a base station includes the following:

the receiving unit is configured to receive a radio resource control RRCconnection reconfiguration message sent from a base station, where theRRC connection reconfiguration message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation; and

that the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP information tothe base station includes the following:

the sending unit is configured to send a measurement report to the basestation, where the measurement report includes the WLAN AP information.

With reference to any one of the second to fourth possibleimplementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a fifth possibleimplementation manner of the fifth aspect, the status information of theUE recorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information includesone or multiple types of the following information:

received signal power for the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographiclocation information of the UE, or collection time for the UE to collectthe WLAN AP information.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the first to fifthpossible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a sixth possibleimplementation manner of the fifth aspect, the WLAN AP informationcollected by the UE includes one or multiple types of the followinginformation:

a media access control MAC address, a service set identifier SSID, anencryption type, a channel number, a protocol used, or a deployer.

In a sixth aspect, a base station is provided, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive WLAN AP request information sentfrom a network device in a Minimization of Drive Tests MDT measurementconfiguration process, where the WLAN AP request information is used torequest a user equipment UE to report WLAN AP information; and

a sending unit, configured to send the WLAN AP request information tothe UE;

the receiving unit is configured to receive the WLAN AP information sentfrom the UE, where the WLAN AP information is collected by the UEaccording to the WLAN AP request information; and

the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP information to thenetwork device.

With the aid of the base station provided in this embodiment of thepresent invention, a UE may collect and report WLAN AP information basedon architecture of a mobile communications network and by using an MDTmeasurement configuration process. In this way, WLAN AP information canbe collected conveniently, accurately, and reliably.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementationmanner of the sixth aspect, that the receiving unit is configured toreceive WLAN AP request information sent from a network device in an MDTmeasurement configuration process includes the following:

the receiving unit is configured to receive an MDT measurementactivation message, where the MDT measurement activation messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the sixthaspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect,the MDT measurement activation message includes MDT measurementindication information, where the MDT measurement indication informationis used to instruct the base station to send a logged measurementconfiguration message or a radio resource control RRC connectionreconfiguration message to a UE, and the logged measurementconfiguration message or the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the first to secondpossible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a third possibleimplementation manner of the sixth aspect, that the receiving unit isconfigured to receive the WLAN AP information sent from the UE includesthe following:

the receiving unit is configured to receive a WLAN AP information recordsent from the UE, where the WLAN AP information record includes the WLANAP information collected by the UE and status information of the UErecorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information; and

that the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP information tothe network device includes the following:

the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP information record tothe network device.

With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the sixthaspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect,that the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP requestinformation to the UE includes the following: the sending unit isconfigured to send the logged measurement configuration messageaccording to the MDT measurement indication information;

that the receiving unit is configured to receive a WLAN AP informationrecord sent from the UE includes the following: the receiving unit isconfigured to receive an MDT log sent from the UE, where the MDT logincludes the WLAN AP information record; and

that the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP informationrecord to the network device includes the following: the sending unit isconfigured to send the MDT log to the network device.

With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the sixthaspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect,that the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP requestinformation to the UE includes the following: the sending unit isconfigured to send the RRC connection reconfiguration message accordingto the MDT measurement indication information;

that the receiving unit is configured to receive a WLAN AP informationrecord sent from the UE includes the following: the receiving unit isconfigured to receive a measurement report sent from the UE, where themeasurement report includes the WLAN AP information record; and

that the sending unit is configured to send the WLAN AP informationrecord to the network device includes the following: the sending unit isconfigured to send the measurement report to the network device.

With reference to any one of the third to fifth possible implementationmanners of the sixth aspect, in a sixth possible implementation mannerof the sixth aspect, the status information of the UE recorded by the UEwhen collecting the WLAN AP information includes one or multiple typesof the following information:

received signal power for the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographiclocation information of the UE, or collection time for the UE to collectthe WLAN AP information.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the first to sixthpossible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a seventhpossible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the WLAN APinformation collected by the UE includes one or multiple types of thefollowing information:

a media access control MAC address, a service set identifier SSID, anencryption type, a channel number, a protocol used, or a deployer.

In a seventh aspect, a communications system is provided, including:

the network device provided in the fourth aspect or any one of the firstto eleventh possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, theuser equipment provided in the fifth aspect or any one of the first tosixth possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, and the basestation provided in the sixth aspect or any one of the first to seventhpossible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, where:

the network device is configured to send WLAN AP request information tothe base station in a Minimization of Drive Tests MDT measurementconfiguration process, where the WLAN AP request information is used torequest the UE to report WLAN AP information;

the base station is configured to send the WLAN AP request informationto the UE;

the UE is configured to collect WLAN AP information according to theWLAN AP request information and report the WLAN AP information to thebase station;

the base station is configured to receive the WLAN AP information sentfrom the UE and send the WLAN AP information to the network device; and

the network device is configured to receive the WLAN AP information sentfrom the base station.

In the communications system provided in this embodiment of the presentinvention, a UE may collect and report WLAN AP information based onarchitecture of a mobile communications network and by using an MDTmeasurement configuration process. In this way, WLAN AP information canbe collected conveniently, accurately, and reliably.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for collecting informationabout a wireless local area network access point according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a method forcollecting information about a wireless local area network access pointaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for collecting informationabout a wireless local area network access point according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for collecting informationabout a wireless local area network access point according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communications systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another communicationssystem according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of thepresent invention more clearly, the following further describes thetechnical solutions of the present invention in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

Technical solutions provided in embodiments of the present invention maybe applied to various mobile communications networks, such as aUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a general packetradio service, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, and a Long TermEvolution Advanced (LTE-A) system. The terms “network” and “system” maybe interchangeable.

In the embodiments of the present invention, a base station (BS) may bea site that communicates with a user equipment (UE) or anothercommunications site, such as a relay site. The base station may providecommunication coverage for a specific physical area. UEs may bedistributed on an entire wireless network, and each UE may be static ormobile. The UE may be called a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriberunit, a station, or the like. The UE may be a cellular phone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communicationsdevice, a hand-held device, a laptop computer, or the like. An accesspoint (AP) on a wireless local area network may also be called awireless access node, a session node, or an accessor bridge. It mayspecifically indicate a pure wireless AP, may also indicate a wirelessrouter, or may also indicate another device that is capable of providingaccess to a wireless local area network in a wireless manner for a UE.In the embodiments of the present invention, a base station works in amobile communications network, such as a UMTS system and an LTE system,and an access point AP on a wireless local area network works in awireless local area network.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method provided in an embodiment of the presentinvention to collect information about a wireless local area networkaccess point includes:

Step S101: A user equipment UE receives WLAN AP request information sentfrom a base station.

The WLAN AP request information is sent from a network device to thebase station in a Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurementconfiguration process, and the WLAN AP request information is used torequest the UE to report WLAN AP information.

A Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) technology is an innovative drivetest technology proposed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) standards organization. MDT measurement configuration isperformed on a user equipment UE through a mobile communicationsnetwork, and the UE performs MDT measurement according to the MDTmeasurement configuration and reports an MDT measurement result. Becausean MDT measurement process requires the involvement of a user equipmentUE at the user's discretion, a mobile communications network may performMDT measurement configuration on a specific UE at the user's discretion.The specific UE may be a predetermined UE that agrees to perform MDTmeasurement, for example, the specific UE may be a UE that pre-signswith a telecommunications operator an agreement for assent to MDTmeasurement.

A mobile communications network may send MDT measurement configurationinformation to a user equipment UE, in order to indicate parametersrequired by the UE to perform MDT measurement, such as a measurementobject, a reporting configuration, a measurement identifier, a quantityconfiguration, and a measurement gap. After receiving the MDTmeasurement configuration information, the UE may perform MDTmeasurement according to the MDT measurement configuration informationand reports an MDT measurement result. The MDT measurement resultrelates to the MDT measurement configuration information and mayspecifically be received signal code power (RSCP), a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI), a chip energy-to-noise power ratio E_(c)/N₀,reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal receivedquality (RSRQ), or the like.

Step S102: The UE collects WLAN AP information according to the WLAN APrequest information.

After the UE receives the WLAN AP request information, if the UEsupports a WLAN access function, the UE may perform a WLAN search so asto collect information about a WLAN AP near the UE. For example, the UEmay obtain information about a WLAN AP near the UE by snooping on abroadcast beacon periodically sent from the WLAN AP, or by using a proberesponse in active scanning.

The WLAN AP information collected by the UE may include one or multipletypes of the following information about the WLAN AP: a media accesscontrol MAC address, a service set identifier SSID, an encryption type,a channel number, a protocol used, or a deployer. The MAC address, whichis also called a hardware address, is 48 bits in length and formed by a12 hexadecimal digits. Each WLAN AP has a global unique MAC address. Theservice set identifier SSID may be self-defined by a deployer duringWLAN AP deployment. The deployer may be an operator, an enterprise, aschool, or a person. The encryption type may be WPA (Wi-Fi ProtectedAccess), WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2), or PSK (Pre-shared Key). Theprotocol used may be the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers) 802.11 series of protocols, such as 802.11a, 802.11b,802.11g, and 802.11n. The channel number is a number of a channel onwhich the WLAN AP detected by the UE works.

Step S103: The UE sends the WLAN AP information to the base station, sothat the base station sends the WLAN AP information to the networkdevice.

In the method for collecting information about a wireless local areanetwork access point provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, aUE may collect and report WLAN AP information based on architecture of amobile communications network and by using an MDT measurementconfiguration process. In this way, WLAN AP information can beconveniently collected. In addition, because the UE that performs MDTmeasurement is selectable in the MDT measurement configuration process,the WLAN AP information collected by using the method is also of highaccuracy and reliability.

Optionally, the WLAN AP request information in step S101 may be used torequest the UE to report information about a specific WLAN AP; in stepS102, when collecting WLAN AP information according to the WLAN APrequest information, the UE may record information about the specificWLAN AP among searched WLAN APs. The specific WLAN AP includes a WLAN APwith a specific deployer or a WLAN AP with a specific service setidentifier SSID.

For example, only information about a WLAN AP deployed by a specificoperator is collected, so as to be subsequently used for specificallyoptimizing coverage of the WLAN network of the operator. For example, ifthe operator defines a specific SSID, and binds the SSID and the publicland mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN), the operator mayalso collect only information about the WLAN AP with the specificservice set identifier SSID.

Optionally, the UE may further record status information of the UE whencollecting the WLAN AP information, so as to obtain a WLAN APinformation record. The WLAN AP information record includes the WLAN APinformation collected by the UE and the status information of the UErecorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information; and thesending, by the UE, the WLAN AP information to the base stationincludes: sending, by the UE, the WLAN AP information record to the basestation.

The status information of the UE may include one or multiple types ofthe following information: received signal power for the UE to receive aWLAN AP signal, geographic location information of the UE, or collectiontime for the UE to collect the WLAN AP information. The received signalpower may reflect a distance between the UE and the WLAN AP. Generally,after transmit power of a WLAN AP is determined, the smaller thedistance between the UE and the WLAN AP is, the higher the receivedsignal power is. The geographic location information is the geographiclocation information of the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information.For example, if the UE supports a Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS) function, the UE may acquire the geographic location informationby starting a GNSS device. The collection time is the time for the UE tocollect the WLAN AP information. It may be absolute time or relativecollection time that is relative to configuration delivery time.

Optionally, the receiving, by a UE, WLAN AP request information sentfrom a base station in step S101 may include: receiving, by the UE, alogged measurement configuration message sent from a base station, wherethe logged measurement configuration message includes the WLAN APrequest information; or, receiving, by the UE, a radio resource control(RRC) connection reconfiguration message sent from a base station, wherethe RRC connection reconfiguration message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation.

When the UE receives a logged measurement configuration message, the UEmay use a logged MDT measurement mode and the UE may perform MDTmeasurement in RRC idle state. When the UE receives an RRC connectionreconfiguration message, the UE may use an immediate MDT measurementmode and the UE may perform MDT measurement in RRC connected state (RRCconnected).

If the UE receives the WLAN AP request information through a loggedmeasurement configuration message, optionally, the performing, by theUE, a WLAN search according to the WLAN AP request information andrecording in step S102 may be performed when the UE is in RRC idlestate, and the sending, by the UE, the WLAN AP information record to thebase station may include: sending, by the UE, an MDT log to the basestation, where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record; and,before the UE sends an MDT log to the base station, the following may beincluded: sending, by the UE, an MDT log available message to the basestation and receiving, by the UE, an MDT log request message sent fromthe base station.

If the UE receives the WLAN AP request information through an RRCconnection reconfiguration message, optionally, the performing, by theUE, a WLAN search according to the WLAN AP request information andrecording in step S102 may be performed when the UE is in RRC connectedstate, and the sending, by the UE, the WLAN AP information record to thebase station may include: sending, by the UE, a measurement report tothe base station, where the measurement report includes the WLAN APinformation record.

It should be noted that if multiple WLAN APs are found when the UE isperforming the WLAN search, the UE may obtain multiple WLAN APinformation records at the same time, where the multiple WLAN APinformation records correspond to the multiple WLAN APs separately, andthe multiple WLAN AP information records may have same geographiclocation information and collection time.

With reference to FIG. 2, the following describes the WLAN APinformation record collected and reported by the UE in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that two UEs aredistributed in coverage areas of three APs. Without loss of generality,identifiers of the two UEs are marked as UE1 and UE2 respectively, andSSIDs of the three APs are marked as AP1, AP2, and AP3 respectively. UE1may find AP1, AP2, and AP3 and obtains three WLAN AP information recordsthrough recording. UE2 may find AP1 and AP2 and obtains two WLAN APinformation records through recording.

Table-1 lists three WLAN AP information records collected and reportedby user equipment UE1. Data in the table is exemplary data and does notconstitute any limitation on this embodiment of the present invention.

TABLE 1 Examples of WLAN AP information records reported by userequipment UE1 Collection Time 2012/11/7 2012/11/7 2012/11/7 11:57 11:5711:57 Geographic Location 121.4206 121.4206 121.4206 31.0276 31.027631.0276 Received Signal −50 −50 −75 Power (dBm) Deployer EnterprisePerson Operator SSID AP1 AP3 AP2 MAC Address 1C:AC:34:B5:54:4521:A4:54:C5:F3:41 E2:61:40:42:F7:10 Encryption Type WPA WPA2 WPA2Channel Number 3 1 6 Protocol Used 802.11g 802.11n 802.11n

Table-2 lists two WLAN AP information records collected and reported byuser equipment UE2. Data in the table is exemplary data, and formats andvalues of the data in the table do not constitute any limitation on thisembodiment of the present invention.

By observing the data in Table-1 and Table-2 with reference to FIG. 2,it may be found that for a same WLAN AP, received signal power ofdifferent UEs in different locations directly relates to the distancebetween the UEs and the AP, and the shorter the distance is, the higherthe received signal power is; and information about a WLAN AP collectedby the different UEs is consistent. For multiple WLAN AP informationrecords collected by a same UE, collection time and geographic locationsare consistent.

If the UE collects multiple WLAN AP information records, the UE may sendall the multiple WLAN AP information records to the base station, or maysend only part of the WLAN AP information records to the base station,for example, sends only one or some WLAN AP information records thatincludes maximum received signal power; and the UE may send the multipleWLAN AP information records at a time or may send the multiple WLAN APinformation records at multiple times.

TABLE 2 Examples of WLAN AP information records reported by userequipment UE2 Collection Time 2012/11/7 11:59 2012/11/7 11:59 GeographicLocation 121.4212 31.0279 121.4212 31.0279 Received Signal Power −40 −75(dBm) Deployer Operator Enterprise SSID AP2 AP1 MAC AddressE2:61:40:42:F7:10 1C:AC:34:B5:54:45 Encryption Type WPA2 WPA ChannelNumber 6 3 Protocol Used 802.11n 802.11g

In the optional technical solutions, based on architecture of a mobilecommunications network, status information of a UE that collects WLAN APinformation may also be acquired when the WLAN AP information iscollected. According to a combination of the collected WLAN APinformation, received signal power for the UE to receive a WLAN APsignal, geographic location information of the UE, or collection timefor the UE to collect the WLAN AP information, a running condition ofthe WLAN AP, such as network coverage and signal strength, may belearned. Further, the information may be used to optimize a WLAN, forexample, optimize network coverage of the WLAN.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method provided in an embodiment of the presentinvention to collect information about a wireless local area networkaccess point includes:

Step S301: Abase station receives WLAN AP request information sent froma network device in an MDT measurement configuration process, where theWLAN AP request information is used to request a user equipment UE toreport WLAN AP information.

Step S302: The base station sends the WLAN AP request information to theUE.

Step S303: The base station receives the WLAN AP information sent fromthe UE, where the WLAN AP information is collected by the UE accordingto the WLAN AP request information.

Step S304: The base station sends the WLAN AP information to the networkdevice.

The method for collecting information about a wireless local areanetwork access point provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 isconsistent with the method provided in the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1. The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 describes the method fromthe perspective of a user equipment, and the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 3 describes the method from the perspective of abase station. Forrelated conceptual content, reference may be made to the descriptions inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 and therefore no further detailsare provided herein again.

In the method for collecting information about a wireless local areanetwork access point provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, aUE may collect and report WLAN AP information based on architecture of amobile communications network and by using an MDT measurementconfiguration process. In this way, WLAN AP information can be collectedconveniently, accurately, and reliably.

Optionally, the receiving, by a base station, WLAN AP requestinformation sent from a network device in an MDT measurementconfiguration process may include: receiving, by the base station, anMDT measurement activation message sent from a network device, where theMDT measurement activation message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation.

Optionally, the MDT measurement activation message may include MDTmeasurement indication information, which is used to instruct the basestation to send a logged measurement configuration message or a radioresource control RRC connection reconfiguration message to a UE, and thelogged measurement configuration message or the RRC connectionreconfiguration message includes the WLAN AP request information. Thenetwork device may be a network management system device, a mobilitymanagement entity (MME), or a serving general packet radio service(GPRS) support node (SGSN), or may be another network device that iscapable of performing MDT measurement configuration. A type of the MDTmeasurement activation message relates to the network device that sendsthe MDT measurement activation message. For example, if the networkdevice is a network management system device, the MDT measurementactivation message may be a trace session activation request message;and if the network device is an MME, the MDT measurement activationmessage may be an initial context setup request (initial context setuprequest) message.

Optionally, the sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP requestinformation to the user equipment UE in step S302 includes: sending, bythe base station, a logged measurement configuration message to the UEaccording to the MDT measurement indication information, where thelogged measurement configuration message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation; or, sending, by the base station, an RRC connectionreconfiguration message to the UE according to the MDT measurementindication information, where the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

Optionally, the receiving, by the base station, the WLAN AP informationsent from the UE in step S303 includes: receiving, by the base station,a WLAN AP information record sent from the UE, where the WLAN APinformation record includes the WLAN AP information collected by the UEand status information of the UE recorded by the UE when collecting theWLAN AP information.

The sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP information to the networkdevice in step S304 includes: sending, by the base station, the WLAN APinformation record to the network device.

If the base station sends a logged measurement configuration message tothe UE, the receiving, by the base station, a WLAN AP information recordsent from the UE includes: receiving, by the base station, an MDT logsent from the UE, where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP informationrecord; and the sending, by the base station, the WLAN AP informationrecord to the network device includes: sending, by the base station, theMDT log to the network device.

If the base station sends a RRC connection reconfiguration message tothe UE according to the MDT measurement indication information, thereceiving, by the base station, a WLAN AP information record sent fromthe UE includes: receiving, by the base station, a measurement reportsent from the UE, where the measurement report includes the WLAN APinformation record; and the sending, by the base station, the WLAN APinformation record to the network device includes: sending, by the basestation, the measurement report to the network device.

The base station sends the WLAN AP information record to the networkdevice, so that the network device may establish or update a WLAN APinformation record database according to the WLAN AP information record.

In the optional technical solutions, based on architecture of a mobilecommunications network, status information of a UE that collects WLAN APinformation may also be acquired when the WLAN AP information iscollected. According to a combination of the collected WLAN APinformation, received signal power for the UE to receive a WLAN APsignal, geographic location information of the UE, or collection timefor the UE to collect the WLAN AP information, a running condition ofthe WLAN AP, such as network coverage and signal strength, may belearned. Further, the information may be used to optimize a WLAN, forexample, optimize network coverage of the WLAN.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method provided in an embodiment of the presentinvention to collect information about a wireless local area networkaccess point includes:

Step S401: A network device sends WLAN AP request information to a basestation in an MDT measurement configuration process, where the WLAN APrequest information is used to request a user equipment UE to reportWLAN AP information.

Step S402: The network device receives the WLAN AP information sent fromthe base station, where the WLAN AP information is received by the basestation from the UE, and the WLAN AP information is collected by the UEaccording to the WLAN AP request information after the WLAN AP requestinformation sent from the base station is received.

The method for collecting information about a wireless local areanetwork access point provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 isconsistent with the methods provided in the embodiments illustrated inFIG. 1 and FIG. 3. The embodiments illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3respectively describe the methods from the perspective of a userequipment and from the perspective of a base station, and the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 4 describes the method from the perspective of anetwork device. For related content, reference may be made to thedescriptions in the embodiments illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 and nofurther details are provided herein again. The network device may be anetwork management system device, a mobility management entity (MME), ora serving general packet radio service (GPRS) supporting node (SGSN), ormay be another network device that is capable of instructing a basestation to perform MDT measurement.

In the method for collecting information about a wireless local areanetwork access point provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, aUE may collect and report WLAN AP information based on architecture of amobile communications network and by using an MDT measurementconfiguration process. In this way, WLAN AP information can be collectedconveniently, accurately, and reliably.

Optionally, the sending, by the network device, WLAN AP requestinformation to a base station in an MDT measurement configurationprocess in step S401 may include: sending, by the network device, an MDTmeasurement activation message to the base station, where the MDTmeasurement activation message includes the WLAN AP request information.

Optionally, the MDT measurement activation message further includes MDTmeasurement indication information, the MDT measurement indicationinformation is used to instruct the base station to send a loggedmeasurement configuration message or a radio resource control RRCconnection reconfiguration message to a UE, and the logged measurementconfiguration message or the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

Optionally, the receiving, by the network device, the WLAN APinformation sent from the base station in step S402 may be as follows:receiving, by the network device, a WLAN AP information record sent fromthe base station, where the WLAN AP information record includes the WLANAP information collected by the UE and status information of the UErecorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information.

The receiving, by the network device, a WLAN AP information record sentfrom the base station includes:

if the base station sends a logged measurement configuration message toa UE, receiving, by the network device, an MDT log sent from the basestation, where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record; orif the base station sends a RRC connection reconfiguration message to aUE, receiving, by the network device, a measurement report sent from thebase station, where the measurement report includes the WLAN APinformation record.

In the optional technical solutions, based on architecture of a mobilecommunications network, status information of a UE that collects WLAN APinformation may also be acquired when the WLAN AP information iscollected. According to a combination of the collected WLAN APinformation, received signal power for the UE to receive a WLAN APsignal, geographic location information of the UE, or collection timefor the UE to collect the WLAN AP information, a running condition ofthe WLAN AP, such as network coverage and signal strength, may belearned. Further, the information may be used to optimize a WLAN, forexample, optimize network coverage of the WLAN.

Optionally, if the WLAN AP information record includes an MAC address ofthe WLAN AP, further, the method may further include:

Step S403: The network device establishes or updates a WLAN APinformation record database according to the WLAN AP information recordand by using the MAC address of the WLAN AP included in the WLAN APinformation record as a search identifier.

When the network device receives a WLAN AP information record, thenetwork device finds that an MAC address of a WLAN AP included in theWLAN AP information record is the search identifier and searches theWLAN AP information record database; if a same MAC address is not found,the network device adds a WLAN AP information record with the MACaddress as a search identifier to the WLAN AP information recorddatabase; if a same MAC address is found, the network device adds theWLAN AP information record under the MAC address.

Assuming that the network device receives the WLAN AP informationrecords listed in Table-1 and Table-2, the network device may establisha WLAN AP information record database shown in Table-3. Formats and datain Table-3 are merely exemplary and do not constitute any limitation onthe WLAN AP information record database. It may be understood that aWLAN AP information record database of another form may also beconstructed in specific implementation according to the WLAN APinformation record.

If there are a relatively large number of WLAN AP information records inan established WLAN AP information record database, the network devicemay update the established WLAN AP information record database accordingto the received WLAN AP information record and by using an MAC addressof the WLAN AP as a search identifier. Optionally, any one or multipleof the following update policies may be used:

For WLAN AP information records of multiple WLAN APs with differentdeployers in the established WLAN AP information record database:

a WLAN AP information record with an operator as a deployer ispreferentially kept, and a WLAN AP information record with a person as adeployer is preferentially deleted.

TABLE 3 Examples of WLAN AP information record databases Search WLAN APIdentifier Information (MAC Address) Record Record 1 Record 2 Record 31C:AC:34:B5:54: UE identifier UE1 UE2 . . . 45 Collection time 2012/11/72012/11/7 . . . 11:57 11:59 Geographic 121.4206 121.4212 . . . location31.0276 31.0279 Received signal −50 −75 . . . power (dBm) DeployerEnterprise Enterprise . . . SSID AP1 AP1 . . . Encryption type WPA WPA .. . Channel number 3 3 . . . Protocol used 802.11g 802.11g . . .E2:61:40:42:F7: UE identifier UE1 UE2 . . . 10 Collection time 2012/11/72012/11/7 . . . 11:57 11:59 Geographic 121.4206 121.4212 . . . location31.0276 31.0279 Received signal −75 −40 . . . power (dBm) DeployerOperator Operator . . . SSID AP2 AP2 . . . Encryption type WPA2 WPA2 . .. Channel number 6 6 . . . Protocol used 802.11n 802.11n . . .21:A4:54:C5:F3: UE identifier UE1 . . . 41 Collection time 2012/11/7 . .. 11:57 Geographic 121.4206 . . . location 31.0276 Received signal −50 .. . power (dBm) Deployer Person . . . SSID AP3 . . . Encryption typeWPA2 . . . Channel number 1 . . . Protocol used 802.11n . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .

The update policy is considered based on the following: Operationalreliability and stability of WLAN APs vary with deployers of the WLANAPs. Generally, reliability and stability of the WLAN APs deployed by anoperator are the highest, those of the WLAN APs deployed by a person arethe lowest, and those of the WLAN APs deployed by an enterprise or aschool is between these two extremes. Therefore, different validityperiods may be assigned to WLAN AP information records with differentdeployers. A validity period of a WLAN AP information record with anoperator as the deployer is the longest, for example, a validity periodof two years; a validity period of a WLAN AP information record with anenterprise or a school as the deployer is moderate, for example, avalidity period of six months; and a validity period of a WLAN APinformation record with a person as the deployer is the shortest, forexample, a validity period of one month.

For WLAN AP information records of a same WLAN AP in the establishedWLAN AP information record database:

a WLAN AP information record with highest received signal power ispreferentially kept, and a WLAN AP information record with lowestreceived signal power is preferentially deleted; or

-   -   a WLAN AP information record in which geographic location        information exists is preferentially kept, and a WLAN AP        information record in which geographic location information does        not exist is preferentially deleted; or    -   a WLAN AP information record with latest collection time of WLAN        AP information is preferentially kept, and a WLAN AP information        record with earliest collection time of WLAN AP information is        preferentially deleted.

The WLAN AP information record with the latest collection time indicatesthat the collection time of the WLAN AP information record is closest tothe time for applying the update policy, that is, the WLAN APinformation record is a newest WLAN AP information record of the WLANAP; and the WLAN AP information record with the earliest collection timeindicates that the collection time of the WLAN AP information record ismost far away from the time for applying the update policy, that is, theWLAN AP information record is the oldest WLAN AP information record ofthe WLAN AP.

The WLAN AP information records with the highest received signal power,with the geographic location information, or with the latest collectiontime provide more useful references than other WLAN AP informationrecords. For example, relatively high received signal power indicatesthat a distance between a UE that collects and reports the WLAN APinformation record and the WLAN AP is the shortest, and geographiclocation information of the WLAN AP may be better estimated by usinggeographic location information of the UE.

Optionally, when the network device updates a WLAN AP information recorddatabase according to the received WLAN AP information record, and ifthe WLAN AP information record does not include the geographic locationinformation of the UE, the method may further include:

Step S404: The network device determines the geographic locationinformation of the UE according to the established WLAN AP informationrecord database, where the established WLAN AP information recorddatabase includes at least one WLAN AP information record.

Optionally, the WLAN AP information record that does not include thegeographic location information of the UE is recorded as a first WLAN APinformation record, and the UE is a first UE; and the determining, bythe network device, the geographic location information of the UEaccording to the established WLAN AP information record database mayinclude:

searching the established WLAN AP information record database for asecond WLAN AP information record by the network device by using an MACaddress of a WLAN AP included in the first WLAN AP information record asa search identifier, where the second WLAN AP information recordincludes the MAC address and includes geographic location information ofa second UE; and, if the second WLAN AP information record exists in theestablished WLAN AP information record database, determining, by thenetwork device, the geographic location information of the second UEincluded in the second WLAN AP information record as geographic locationinformation of the first UE.

Optionally, if multiple second WLAN AP information records exist, thenetwork device selects a second WLAN AP information record with highestreceived signal power among the multiple second WLAN AP informationrecords and determines the geographic location information of the secondUE included in the second WLAN AP information record with the highestreceived signal power as the geographic location information of thefirst UE.

In the optional technical solutions, the network device may determinethe geographic location information of the UE according to anestablished WLAN AP information record database. Because coverage of aWLAN AP is generally only 10 to 20 meters, locating precision of thetechnical solutions for determining geographic location information of aUE may reach 5 to 20 meters, and the solutions are still applicable to asituation that the UE is located in an indoor place and can overcome alimitation that a locating solution of a global navigation satellitesystem GNSS is applicable only to an outdoor situation in most cases.

If the network device also receives an MDT measurement result whenreceiving the first WLAN AP information record, and the MDT measurementresult is obtained by the first UE through MDT measurement, the methodmay further include:

Step S405: The network device associates the MDT measurement result withthe geographic location information of the first UE, where thegeographic location information of the first UE is determined by thenetwork device according to the established WLAN AP information recorddatabase.

By using the optional technical solutions, the MDT measurement result isassociated with the geographic location information of the UE determinedaccording to the established WLAN AP information record database, andoptimization of a mobile communications network may be performed, forexample, network coverage of the mobile communications network isoptimized. In addition, convergence and interworking between a mobilecommunications network and a wireless local area network is promotedbased on the WLAN AP information record and the MDT measurement result,for example, network coverage of the mobile communications network andthe wireless local area network is fully considered.

Referring to FIG. 5, a user equipment UE 50 provided in an embodiment ofthe present invention includes a receiving unit 520, a sending unit 560,and a collecting unit 540 separately connecting to the receiving unit520 and the sending unit 560.

The receiving unit 520 is configured to receive WLAN AP requestinformation sent from a base station, where the WLAN AP requestinformation is sent from a network device to the base station in an MDTmeasurement configuration process, and the WLAN AP request informationis used to request the UE to report WLAN AP information.

The collecting unit 540 is configured to collect WLAN AP informationaccording to the WLAN AP request information.

The sending unit 560 is configured to send the WLAN AP information tothe base station, so that the base station sends the WLAN AP informationto the network device.

The user equipment UE 50 provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.5 may be the UE in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, or FIG.4. The foregoing method embodiments may be implemented by using the userequipment UE 50. For related content, reference may be made to thedescriptions in the foregoing method embodiments and therefore nofurther details are provided herein again. The user equipment providedin the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 may collect and report WLAN APinformation, based on architecture of a mobile communications networkand by using an MDT measurement configuration process. In this way, WLANAP information can be collected conveniently, accurately, and reliably.

Optionally, that the collecting unit 540 is configured to collect WLANAP information according to the WLAN AP request information may includethe following:

The collecting unit 540 is configured to perform a WLAN search accordingto the WLAN AP request information and record information about aspecific WLAN AP among searched WLAN APs, where the specific WLAN APincludes a WLAN AP with a specific deployer or a WLAN AP with a specificservice set identifier SSID.

Optionally, the collecting unit 540 is further configured to recordstatus information of the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information, soas to obtain a WLAN AP information record, where the WLAN AP informationrecord includes the WLAN AP information collected by the UE and thestatus information of the UE recorded by the UE when collecting the WLANAP information; and that the sending unit 560 is configured to send theWLAN AP information to the base station may include the following: Thesending unit 560 is configured to send the WLAN AP information record tothe base station.

Optionally, that the receiving unit 520 is configured to receive WLAN APrequest information sent from a base station may include the following:The receiving unit 520 is configured to receive a logged measurementconfiguration message sent from a base station, where the loggedmeasurement configuration message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation; and that the sending unit 560 is configured to send theWLAN AP information record to the base station includes the following:The sending unit 560 is configured to send an MDT log to the basestation, where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record. Thesending unit 560 is configured to send an MDT log available message tothe base station before sending the MDT log to the base station; and thereceiving unit 520 is configured to receive an MDT log request messagesent from the base station before the sending unit 560 sends the MDT logto the base station.

Optionally, that the receiving unit 520 is configured to receive WLAN APrequest information sent from a base station may include the following:The receiving unit 520 is configured to receive a radio resource control(RRC) connection reconfiguration message sent from a base station, wherethe RRC connection reconfiguration message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation; and that the sending unit 560 is configured to send theWLAN AP information record to the base station may include thefollowing: The sending unit 560 is configured to send a measurementreport to the base station, where the measurement report includes theWLAN AP information record.

By using the user equipment UE provided in the optional technicalsolutions, based on architecture of a mobile communications network,status information of a UE that collects WLAN AP information may also beacquired when the WLAN AP information is collected. According to acombination of the collected WLAN AP information, received signal powerfor the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographic location informationof the UE, or collection time for the UE to collect the WLAN APinformation, a running condition of the WLAN AP, such as networkcoverage and signal strength, may be learned. Further, the informationmay be used to optimize a WLAN, for example, optimize network coverageof the WLAN.

Referring to FIG. 6, a base station 60 provided in an embodiment of thepresent invention includes:

a receiving unit 620, configured to receive WLAN AP request informationsent from a network device in an MDT measurement configuration process,where the WLAN AP request information is used to request a userequipment UE to report WLAN AP information; and

a sending unit 640, configured to send the WLAN AP request informationto the UE.

The receiving unit 620 may be configured to receive the WLAN APinformation sent from the UE, where the WLAN AP information is collectedby the UE according to the WLAN AP request information.

The sending unit 640 is configured to send the WLAN AP information tothe network device.

The base station 60 provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 maybe the base station in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, orFIG. 4. The foregoing method embodiments may be implemented by using thebase station 60. For related content, reference may be made to thedescriptions in the foregoing method embodiments and therefore nofurther details are provided herein again. With the aid of the basestation provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, a UE maycollect and report WLAN AP information based on architecture of a mobilecommunications network and by using an MDT measurement configurationprocess. In this way, WLAN AP information can be collected conveniently,accurately, and reliably.

Optionally, that the receiving unit 620 is configured to receive WLAN APrequest information sent from a network device in an MDT measurementconfiguration process includes the following: The receiving unit 620 isconfigured to receive an MDT measurement activation message sent fromthe network device, where the MDT measurement activation messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

Optionally, the MDT measurement activation message further includes MDTmeasurement indication information, the MDT measurement indicationinformation is used to instruct the base station 60 to send a loggedmeasurement configuration message or a radio resource control RRCconnection reconfiguration message to a UE, and the logged measurementconfiguration message or the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

Optionally, that the receiving unit 620 is configured to receive theWLAN AP information sent from the UE includes the following: Thereceiving unit 620 is configured to receive a WLAN AP information recordsent from the UE, where the WLAN AP information record includes the WLANAP information collected by the UE and status information of the UErecorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information; and that thesending unit 640 is configured to send the WLAN AP information to thenetwork device may include the following: The sending unit 640 isconfigured to send the WLAN AP information record to the network device.

Optionally, that the sending unit 640 is configured to send the WLAN APrequest information to the UE includes the following: The sending unit640 is configured to send the logged measurement configuration messageto the UE according to the MDT measurement indication information; andthat the receiving unit 620 is configured to receive a WLAN APinformation record sent from the UE may include the following: Thereceiving unit 620 is configured to receive an MDT log sent from the UE,where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record; and that thesending unit 640 is configured to send the WLAN AP information record tothe network device may include the following: The sending unit 640 isconfigured to send the MDT log to the network device.

Optionally, that the sending unit 640 is configured to send the WLAN APrequest information to the UE includes the following: The sending unit640 is configured to send the RRC connection reconfiguration message tothe UE according to the MDT measurement indication information; and thatthe receiving unit 620 is configured to receive a WLAN AP informationrecord sent from the UE may include the following: The receiving unit620 is configured to receive a measurement report sent from the UE,where the measurement report includes the WLAN AP information record;and that the sending unit 640 is configured to send the WLAN APinformation record to the network device may include the following: Thesending unit 640 is configured to send the measurement report to thenetwork device.

By using the base station provided in the optional technical solutions,based on architecture of a mobile communications network, statusinformation of a UE that collects WLAN AP information may also beacquired when the WLAN AP information is collected. According to acombination of the collected WLAN AP information, received signal powerfor the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographic location informationof the UE, or collection time for the UE to collect the WLAN APinformation, a running condition of the WLAN AP, such as networkcoverage and signal strength, may be learned. Further, the informationmay be used to optimize a WLAN, for example, optimize network coverageof the WLAN.

Referring to FIG. 7, a network device 70 provided in an embodiment ofthe present invention includes:

a sending unit 710, configured to send WLAN AP request information to abase station in a Minimization of Drive Tests MDT measurementconfiguration process, where the WLAN AP request information is used torequest a user equipment UE to report WLAN AP information; and

A receiving unit 720, configured to receive the WLAN AP information sentfrom the base station, where the WLAN AP information is received by thebase station from the UE, and the WLAN AP information is collected bythe UE according to the WLAN AP request information after the WLAN APrequest information sent from the base station is received.

The network device 70 illustrated in FIG. 7 may be the network device inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, or FIG. 4. The foregoingmethod embodiments may be implemented by using the network device 70.For related content, reference may be made to the descriptions in theforegoing method embodiments and therefore no further details areprovided herein again. With the aid of the network device provided inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, a UE may collect and report WLANAP information based on architecture of a mobile communications networkand by using an MDT measurement configuration process. In this way, WLANAP information can be collected conveniently, accurately, and reliably.

Optionally, that the sending unit 710 is configured to send WLAN APrequest information to a base station in an MDT measurementconfiguration process may include the following: The sending unit 710 isconfigured to send an MDT measurement activation message to abasestation, where the MDT measurement activation message includes the WLANAP request information. The MDT measurement activation message mayinclude MDT measurement indication information, the MDT measurementindication information is used to instruct the base station to send alogged measurement configuration message or a radio resource control RRCconnection reconfiguration message to a UE, and the logged measurementconfiguration message or the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

Optionally, that the receiving unit 720 is configured to receive theWLAN AP information sent from the base station includes the following:The receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a WLAN AP informationrecord sent from the base station, where the WLAN AP information recordincludes the WLAN AP information collected by the UE and statusinformation of the UE recorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN APinformation.

That the receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a WLAN APinformation record sent from the base station may include the following:The receiving unit 720 is configured to receive an MDT log sent from thebase station, where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record;or the receiving unit 720 is configured to receive a measurement reportsent from the base station, where the measurement report includes theWLAN AP information record.

Optionally, the network device 70 may be a network management systemdevice, an MME, or a SGSN, or may be another network device that iscapable of instructing a base station to perform MDT measurement.

By using the network device provided in the optional technicalsolutions, based on architecture of a mobile communications network,status information of a UE that collects WLAN AP information may also beacquired when the WLAN AP information is collected. According to acombination of the collected WLAN AP information, received signal powerfor the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographic location informationof the UE, or collection time for the UE to collect the WLAN APinformation, a running condition of the WLAN AP, such as networkcoverage and signal strength, may be learned. Further, the informationmay be used to optimize a WLAN, for example, optimize network coverageof the WLAN.

Optionally, the network device 70 may further include a processing unit730 connecting to the receiving unit 720 and a memory unit 740connecting to the processing unit 730.

The processing unit 730 is configured to, when the WLAN AP informationrecord includes an MAC address of the WLAN AP, establish or update aWLAN AP information record database by using the MAC address as a searchidentifier.

The memory unit 740 is configured to store the WLAN AP informationrecord database.

Optionally, the processing unit 730 is further configured to, if theWLAN AP information record does not include geographic locationinformation of the UE, determine the geographic location information ofthe UE according to an established WLAN AP information record databasewhen updating the WLAN AP information record database, where theestablished WLAN AP information record database includes at least oneWLAN AP information record.

Optionally, the WLAN AP information record that does not include thegeographic location information of the UE is recorded as a first WLAN APinformation record, and the UE is a first UE; and that the processingunit 730 is further configured to determine geographic locationinformation of the UE according to an established WLAN AP informationrecord database may further include the following: The processing unit730 is further configured to search the established WLAN AP informationrecord database for a second WLAN AP information record by using an MACaddress of a WLAN AP included in the first WLAN AP information record asa search identifier, where the second WLAN AP information recordincludes the MAC address and includes geographic location information ofa second UE; and, if the second WLAN AP information record exists in theestablished WLAN AP information record database, determine thegeographic location information of the second UE included in the secondWLAN AP information record as geographic location information of thefirst UE.

By using the network device provided in the optional technicalsolutions, the geographic location information of the UE may bedetermined according to an established WLAN AP information recorddatabase. Because coverage of a WLAN AP is generally only 10 to 20meters, locating precision of the technical solution for determininggeographic location information of a UE may reach 5 to 20 meters, andthe solution is still applicable to a situation that the UE is locatedin an indoor place and can overcome a limitation that a locatingsolution of a global navigation satellite system GNSS is only applicableto an outdoor situation in most cases.

Optionally, the processing unit 730 is further configured to, if thereceiving unit 720 also receives an MDT measurement result when thereceiving unit 720 receives the first WLAN AP information record,associate the MDT measurement result with the geographic locationinformation of the first UE, where the geographic location informationof the first UE is determined according to the established WLAN APinformation record database, and the MDT measurement result is obtainedby the first UE through MDT measurement.

By using the network device provided in the optional technicalsolutions, the MDT measurement result is associated with the geographiclocation information of the UE determined according to the establishedWLAN AP information record database, and optimization of a mobilecommunications network may be performed, for example, network coverageof the mobile communications network is optimized. In addition,convergence and interworking between a mobile communications network anda wireless local area network is promoted based on the WLAN APinformation record and the MDT measurement result, for example, networkcoverage of the mobile communications network and the wireless localarea network is fully considered.

Referring to FIG. 8, a user equipment UE 80 provided in an embodiment ofthe present invention includes: a receiver 820, a processor 840, amemory 860, and a sender 880.

The receiver 820 connects to the processor 840 and is configured toreceive WLAN AP request information sent from a base station, where theWLAN AP request information is sent from a network device to the basestation in a Minimization of Drive Tests MDT measurement configurationprocess, and the WLAN AP request information is used to request the UEto report WLAN AP information.

The processor 840 connects to the receiver 820, the memory 860, and thesender 880 separately and is configured to control, according to theWLAN AP request information, the receiver 820, the memory 860, and thesender 880 to collect and report WLAN AP information.

Optionally, the UE 80 may use a passive scanning manner to acquire WLANAP information, for example, the processor 840 may instruct, accordingto the WLAN AP request information, the receiver 820 to receive abroadcast beacon periodically sent from a WLAN AP and acquireinformation about a WLAN AP distributed around the UE from the broadcastbeacon; or the UE 80 may also use an active scanning manner to acquireWLAN AP information, for example, the processor 840 may instruct,according to the WLAN AP request information, the sender 880 tobroadcast a probe request and acquire, according to a probe responsereceived by the receiver 820, information about the WLAN AP distributedaround the UE.

The memory 860 connects to the receiver 820, the sender 840, and theprocessor 840 and is configured to store the collected WLAN APinformation.

The sender 880 connects to the processor 840 and the memory 860 and isconfigured to send the WLAN AP information to the base station.

The user equipment UE 80 provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.8 may be the UE in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, or FIG.4. The foregoing method embodiments may be implemented by using the userequipment UE 80. For related content, reference may be made to thedescriptions in the foregoing method embodiments and therefore nofurther details are provided herein again. The user equipment providedin the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 may collect and report WLAN APinformation, based on architecture of a mobile communications networkand by using an MDT measurement configuration process. In this way, WLANAP information can be collected conveniently, accurately, and reliably.

Optionally, that the processor 840 is configured to control, accordingto the WLAN AP request information, the receiver 820, the memory 860,and the sender 880 to collect and report WLAN AP information may includethe following: The processor 840 is configured to record informationabout a specific WLAN AP in the acquired WLAN AP information, where thespecific WLAN AP includes a WLAN AP with a specific deployer or a WLANAP with a specific service set identifier SSID.

Optionally, the processor 840 may further be configured to record statusinformation of the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information, so as toobtain a WLAN AP information record, where the WLAN AP informationrecord includes the WLAN AP information collected by the UE and thestatus information of the UE recorded by the UE when collecting the WLANAP information; and that the sender 880 is configured to send the WLANAP information to the base station may include the following: The sender880 is configured to send the WLAN AP information record to the basestation.

Optionally, that the receiver 820 is configured to receive WLAN APrequest information sent from a base station may include the following:The receiver 820 is configured to receive a logged measurementconfiguration message sent from a base station, where the loggedmeasurement configuration message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation; and that the sender 880 is configured to send the WLAN APinformation record to the base station may include the following: Thesender 880 is configured to send an MDT log to the base station, wherethe MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record. The sender 880 isconfigured to send an MDT log available message to the base stationbefore sending the MDT log to the base station; and the receiver 820 isconfigured to receive an MDT log request message sent from the basestation before the sender 880 sends the MDT log to the base station.

Optionally, that the receiver 820 is configured to receive WLAN APrequest information sent from a base station may include the following:The receiver 820 is configured to receive a radio resource control (RRC)connection reconfiguration message sent from a base station, where theRRC connection reconfiguration message includes the WLAN AP requestinformation; and that the sender 880 is configured to send the WLAN APinformation record to the base station may include the following: Thesender 880 is configured to send a measurement report to the basestation, where the measurement report includes the WLAN AP informationrecord.

By using the user equipment UE provided in the optional technicalsolutions, based on architecture of a mobile communications network,status information of a UE that collects WLAN AP information may also beacquired when the WLAN AP information is collected. According to acombination of the collected WLAN AP information, received signal powerfor the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographic location informationof the UE, or collection time for the UE to collect the WLAN APinformation, a running condition of the WLAN AP, such as networkcoverage and signal strength, may be learned. Further, the informationmay be used to optimize a WLAN, for example, optimize network coverageof the WLAN.

Referring to FIG. 9, a base station 90 provided in an embodiment of thepresent invention includes:

a receiver 920, configured to receive WLAN AP request information sentfrom a network device in an MDT measurement configuration process, wherethe WLAN AP request information is used to request a UE to report WLANAP information; and

a sender 940, configured to send the WLAN AP request information to theUE.

The receiver 920 is configured to receive the WLAN AP information sentfrom the UE, where the WLAN AP information is collected by the UEaccording to the WLAN AP request information.

The sender 940 is configured to send the WLAN AP information to thenetwork device.

The base station 90 provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9 maybe the base station in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, orFIG. 4. The foregoing method embodiments may be implemented by using thebase station 90. For related content, reference may be made to thedescriptions in the foregoing method embodiments and therefore nofurther details are provided herein again. With the aid of the basestation provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, a UE maycollect and report WLAN AP information based on architecture of a mobilecommunications network and by using an MDT measurement configurationprocess. In this way, WLAN AP information can be collected conveniently,accurately, and reliably.

Optionally, that a receiver 920 is configured to receive WLAN AP requestinformation sent from a network device in an MDT measurementconfiguration process may include the following: The receiver 920 isconfigured to receive an MDT measurement activation message sent fromthe network device, where the MDT measurement activation messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

Optionally, the MDT measurement activation message includes MDTmeasurement indication information, the MDT measurement indicationinformation is used to instruct the base station 60 to send a loggedmeasurement configuration message or a radio resource control RRCconnection reconfiguration message to a UE, and the logged measurementconfiguration message or the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

Optionally, that the receiver 920 is configured to receive the WLAN APinformation sent from the UE includes the following: The receiver 920 isconfigured to receive a WLAN AP information record sent from the UE,where the WLAN AP information record includes the WLAN AP informationcollected by the UE and status information of the UE recorded by the UEwhen collecting the WLAN AP information; and that the sender 940 isconfigured to send the WLAN AP information to the network device mayinclude the following: The sender 940 is configured to send the WLAN APinformation record to the network device.

Optionally, that the sender 940 is configured to send the WLAN APrequest information to the UE may include the following: The sender 940is configured to send the logged measurement configuration message tothe UE according to the MDT measurement indication information; and thatthe receiver 920 is configured to receive a WLAN AP information recordsent from the UE may include the following: The receiver 920 isconfigured to receive an MDT log sent from the UE, where the MDT logincludes the WLAN AP information record; and that the sender 940 isconfigured to send the WLAN AP information record to the network devicemay include the following: The sender 940 is configured to send the MDTlog to the network device.

Optionally, that the sender 940 is configured to send the WLAN APrequest information to the UE may include the following: The sender 940is configured to send the RRC connection reconfiguration message to theUE according to the MDT measurement indication information; and that thereceiver 920 is configured to receive a WLAN AP information record sentfrom the UE includes the following: The receiver 920 is configured toreceive a measurement report sent from the UE, where the measurementreport includes the WLAN AP information record; and that the sender 940is configured to send the WLAN AP information record to the networkdevice may include the following: The sender 940 is configured to sendthe measurement report to the network device.

By using the base station provided in the optional technical solutions,based on architecture of a mobile communications network, statusinformation of a UE that collects WLAN AP information may also beacquired when the WLAN AP information is collected. According to acombination of the collected WLAN AP information, received signal powerfor the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographic location informationof the UE, or collection time for the UE to collect the WLAN APinformation, a running condition of the WLAN AP, such as networkcoverage and signal strength, may be learned. Further, the informationmay be used to optimize a WLAN, for example, optimize network coverageof the WLAN.

Referring to FIG. 10, a network device 100 provided in an embodiment ofthe present invention includes:

a sender 1010, configured to send WLAN AP request information to a basestation in an MDT measurement configuration process, where the WLAN APrequest information is used to request a user equipment UE to reportWLAN AP information; and

a receiver 1020, configured to receive the WLAN AP information sent fromthe base station, where the WLAN AP information is received by the basestation from the UE, and the WLAN AP information is collected by the UEaccording to the WLAN AP request information after the WLAN AP requestinformation sent from the base station is received.

The network device 100 provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10may be the network device in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG.3, or FIG. 4. The foregoing method embodiments may be implemented byusing the network device 100. For related content, reference may be madeto the descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments and therefore nofurther details are provided herein again. With the aid of the networkdevice provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, a UE maycollect and report WLAN AP information based on architecture of a mobilecommunications network and by using an MDT measurement configurationprocess. In this way, WLAN AP information can be collected conveniently,accurately, and reliably.

Optionally, that the sender 1010 is configured to send WLAN AP requestinformation to a base station in an MDT measurement configurationprocess may include the following: The sender 1010 is configured to sendan MDT measurement activation message to the base station, where the MDTmeasurement activation message includes the WLAN AP request information.The MDT measurement activation message may further include MDTmeasurement indication information, the MDT measurement indicationinformation is used to instruct the base station to send a loggedmeasurement configuration message or a radio resource control RRCconnection reconfiguration message to a UE, and the logged measurementconfiguration message or the RRC connection reconfiguration messageincludes the WLAN AP request information.

Optionally, that the receiver 1020 is configured to receive the WLAN APinformation sent from the base station includes the following: Thereceiver 1020 is configured to receive a WLAN AP information record sentfrom the base station, where the WLAN AP information record includes theWLAN AP information collected by the UE and status information of the UErecorded by the UE when collecting the WLAN AP information.

That the receiver 1020 is configured to receive a WLAN AP informationrecord sent from the base station may include the following: Thereceiver 1020 is configured to receive an MDT log sent from the basestation, where the MDT log includes the WLAN AP information record; orthe receiver 1020 is configured to receive a measurement report sentfrom the base station, where the measurement report includes the WLAN APinformation record.

Optionally, the network device 100 may be a network management systemdevice, an MME, or a SGSN, or may be another network device that iscapable of instructing a base station to perform MDT measurement.

By using the network device provided in the optional technicalsolutions, based on architecture of a mobile communications network,status information of a UE that collects WLAN AP information may also beacquired when the WLAN AP information is collected. According to acombination of the collected WLAN AP information, received signal powerfor the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographic location informationof the UE, or collection time for the UE to collect the WLAN APinformation, a running condition of the WLAN AP, such as networkcoverage and signal strength, may be learned. Further, the informationmay be used to optimize a WLAN, for example, optimize network coverageof the WLAN.

Optionally, the network device 100 may further include a processor 1030connecting to the receiver 1020 and a memory 1040 connecting to theprocessor 1030.

The processor 1030 is configured to establish or update a WLAN APinformation record database according to the WLAN AP information recordand by using an MAC address of a WLAN AP included in the WLAN APinformation record as a search identifier.

The memory 1040 is configured to store the WLAN AP information recorddatabase.

Optionally, the processor 1030 is further configured to, if the WLAN APinformation record does not include geographic location information ofthe UE, determine the geographic location information of the UEaccording to an established WLAN AP information record database whenupdating the WLAN AP information record database, where the establishedWLAN AP information record database includes at least one WLAN APinformation record.

That the processor 1030 is further configured to determine thegeographic location information of the UE according to an establishedWLAN AP information record database may further include the following:The processor 1030 is configured to search the established WLAN APinformation record database for a second WLAN AP information record byusing an MAC address of a WLAN AP included in the WLAN AP informationrecord as a search identifier, where the second WLAN AP informationrecord includes the MAC address and includes geographic locationinformation of the second UE; and, if the second WLAN AP informationrecord exists in the WLAN AP information record database, determine thegeographic location information of the second UE included in the secondWLAN AP information record as the geographic location information of theUE.

By using the network device provided in the optional technicalsolutions, the geographic location information of the UE may bedetermined according to an established WLAN AP information recorddatabase. Because coverage of a WLAN AP is generally only 10 to 20meters, locating precision of the technical solutions for determininggeographic location information of a UE may reach 5 to 20 meters, andthe solutions are still applicable to a situation that the UE is locatedin an indoor place and can overcome a limitation that a locatingsolution of a global navigation satellite system GNSS is only applicableto an outdoor situation in most cases.

Optionally, the processor 1030 is further configured to, if the receiver1020 also receives an MDT measurement result when the receiver 1020receives the WLAN AP information record, associate the MDT measurementresult with the geographic location information of the UE, where thegeographic location information of the UE is determined according to anestablished WLAN AP information record database, and the MDT measurementresult is obtained by the UE through MDT measurement.

By using the network device provided in the optional technicalsolutions, the MDT measurement result is associated with the geographiclocation information of the UE determined according to the establishedWLAN AP information record database, and optimization of a mobilecommunications network may be performed, for example, network coverageof the mobile communications network is optimized. In addition,convergence and interworking between a mobile communications network anda wireless local area network is promoted based on the WLAN APinformation record and the MDT measurement result, for example, networkcoverage of the mobile communications network and the wireless localarea network is fully considered.

Referring to FIG. 11, a communications system 110 provided in anembodiment of the present invention includes: the user equipment UE 50in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the base station 60 in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, and the network device 70 in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 7.

The network device 70 is configured to send WLAN AP request informationto the base station 60 in an MDT measurement configuration process,where the WLAN AP request information is used to request the UE 50 toreport WLAN AP information.

The base station 60 is configured to send the WLAN AP requestinformation to the UE 50.

The UE 50 is configured to collect WLAN AP information according to theWLAN AP request information and report the WLAN AP information to thebase station 60.

The base station 60 is configured to receive the WLAN AP informationsent from the UE and send the WLAN AP information to the network device70.

The network device 70 is configured to receive the WLAN AP informationsent from the base station.

Referring to FIG. 12, a communications system 120 provided in anembodiment of the present invention includes: the user equipment UE 80in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, the base station 90 in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, and the network device 100 in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 10.

The network device 100 is configured to send WLAN AP request informationto the base station 90 in an MDT measurement configuration process,where the WLAN AP request information is used to request the UE 80 toreport WLAN AP information.

The base station 90 is configured to send the WLAN AP requestinformation to the UE 80.

The UE 80 is configured to collect WLAN AP information according to theWLAN AP request information and report the WLAN AP information to thebase station 90.

The base station 90 is configured to receive the WLAN AP informationsent from the UE and send the WLAN AP information to the network device100.

The network device 100 is configured to receive the WLAN AP informationsent from the base station.

In the communications system provided in the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 11 or FIG. 12, a UE may collect and report WLAN AP informationbased on architecture of a mobile communications network and by using anMDT measurement configuration process. In this way, WLAN AP informationcan be collected conveniently, accurately, and reliably.

A person skilled in the art can understand that various illustrativelogical blocks and steps that are listed in the embodiments of thepresent invention may be implemented by using electronic hardware,computer software, or a combination of the two. For the purpose ofclearly displaying interchangeability of hardware and software,functions of the foregoing various illustrative components and stepshave been generally described. Whether such functions are implemented byusing hardware or software depends on a particular application and adesign requirement of the entire system. A person skilled in the art mayuse various methods to implement the functions for each particularapplication, but it should not be considered that such implementationgoes beyond the protection scope of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin the embodiments of the present invention may implement or operate thedescribed functions by using a design of a general processor, a digitalsignal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logicalapparatus, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardwarecomponent, or any combination thereof. The general processor may be amicroprocessor. Optionally, the general processor may also be anytraditional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine.The processor may also be implemented by a combination of computingapparatuses, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor,multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors with a digitalsignal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

Steps of the methods or algorithms described in the embodiments of thepresent invention may be directly embedded into hardware, a softwaremodule executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. Thesoftware module may be stored in a RAM memory, a flash memory, a ROMmemory, an EPROM memory, an EEPROM memory, a register, a hard disk, aremovable magnetic disk, an optical disc, or a storage medium of anyother form in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium may connect to aprocessor so that the processor may read information from the storagemedium and write information to the storage medium. Optionally, thestorage medium may also be integrated into a processor. The processorand the storage medium may be arranged in the ASIC, and the ASIC may bearranged in a user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and thestorage medium may also be arranged in different components of the userterminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described in theembodiments of the present invention may be implemented by usinghardware, software, firmware, or any combination of the three. If beingimplemented by the software, these functions may be stored on acomputer-readable medium or are transmitted to the computer-readablemedium in a form of one or more instructions or code. Thecomputer-readable medium includes a computer storage medium and acommunications medium that enables a computer program to move from oneplace to another place. The storage medium may be an available mediumthat may be accessed by any general or special computer. For example,such computer-readable medium may include but is not limited to a RAM, aROM, an EEPROM, an optical disc or another compact disk storage, a diskstorage or another magnetic storage apparatus, or any other medium thatmay be used to bear or store program code, where the program code is ina form of an instruction or a data structure or in a form that can beread by the general or special computer or the general or specialprocessor. In addition, any connection may be appropriately defined asthe computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmittedfrom a website, a server, or another remote resource by using a coaxialcable, an optical fiber computer, a twisted pair, a digital subscriberline (DSL) or in a wireless manner, such as infrared, radio, ormicrowave, the software is included in the defined computer-readablemedium. The disc (disk) includes a compressed disk, a laser disk, anoptical disc, a DVD, a diskette, and a blue-ray disk. The disk generallycopies data by a magnetic means, and the disc generally copies dataoptically by a laser means. The foregoing combination may also beincluded in the computer-readable medium.

According to the foregoing description of this specification in thepresent invention, technologies in the art may use or implement thecontent of the present invention. Any modification based on thedisclosed content shall be considered to be obvious in the art. Thebasic principles described in the present invention may apply to othervariations without departing from the essence and scope of the presentinvention. Therefore, the content disclosed in the present invention isnot limited to the described embodiments and designs but may also beextended to a maximum scope that is consistent with the principles anddisclosed new features of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for collecting information about awireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP), the methodcomprising: sending, by a base station, WLAN AP request information to aUE in a Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurement configurationprocess, the WLAN AP request information for requesting the UE to reportWLAN AP information; receiving, by the base station, the WLAN APinformation about a specific WLAN AP from the UE, wherein the specificWLAN AP comprises a WLAN AP with at least one of: a media access control(MAC) address, a service set identifier (SSID), an encryption type, achannel number, a protocol used, or a deployer.
 2. The method accordingto claim 1, the method further comprises: receiving, by the basestation, an MDT measurement activation message from a network device,wherein the MDT measurement activation message comprises the WLAN APrequest information.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: theMDT measurement activation message comprises MDT measurement indicationinformation used to instruct the base station to send a loggedmeasurement configuration message or a radio resource control (RRC)connection reconfiguration message to a UE, and wherein the loggedmeasurement configuration message or the RRC connection reconfigurationmessage comprises the WLAN AP request information; and sending, by thebase station, the WLAN AP request information to the UE comprises:sending, by the base station, the logged measurement configurationmessage to the UE according to the MDT measurement indicationinformation, or sending, by the base station, the RRC connectionreconfiguration message to the UE according to the MDT measurementindication information.
 4. The method according to claim 1, whereinreceiving, by the base station, the WLAN AP information comprises:receiving, by the base station, a WLAN AP information record from theUE, wherein the WLAN AP information record comprises the WLAN APinformation and status information of the UE when the WLAN APinformation is collected.
 5. The method according to claim 4, whereinafter the base station sends the logged measurement configurationmessage to the UE according to the MDT measurement indicationinformation, receiving, by the base station, a WLAN AP informationrecord from the UE comprises: receiving, by the base station, an MDT logfrom the UE, wherein the MDT log comprises the WLAN AP informationrecord.
 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein after the basestation sends the RRC connection reconfiguration message to the UEaccording to the MDT measurement indication information, receiving, bythe base station, a WLAN AP information record from the UE comprises:receiving, by the base station, a measurement report from the UE,wherein the measurement report comprises the WLAN AP information record.7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the status information ofthe UE comprises one or multiple types of the following information:received signal power for the UE to receive a WLAN AP signal, geographiclocation information of the UE, or collection time for the UE to collectthe WLAN AP information.
 8. A base station, comprising: a transmitter,configured to send wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP)request information to a user equipment (UE) in a Minimization of DriveTests (MDT) measurement configuration process, the WLAN AP requestinformation for requesting the UE to report WLAN AP information; areceiver, configured to receive the WLAN AP information about a specificWLAN AP from the UE, wherein the specific WLAN AP comprises a WLAN APwith at least one of: media access control (MAC) address, a service setidentifier (SSID), an encryption type, a channel number, a protocolused, or a deployer.
 9. The base station according to claim 8, whereinthe receiver is further configured to: receive an MDT measurementactivation message from a network device, wherein the MDT measurementactivation message comprises the WLAN AP request information.
 10. Thebase station according to claim 9, wherein: the MDT measurementactivation message comprises MDT measurement indication information usedto instruct the base station to send a logged measurement configurationmessage or a radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfigurationmessage to a UE, and wherein the logged measurement configurationmessage or the RRC connection reconfiguration message comprises the WLANAP request information; and the transmitter is further configured to:send the logged measurement configuration message to the UE according tothe MDT measurement indication information, or send the RRC connectionreconfiguration message to the UE according to the MDT measurementindication information.
 11. The base station according to claim 8,wherein the receiver is further configured to: receive a WLAN APinformation record from the UE, wherein the WLAN AP information recordcomprises the WLAN AP information and status information of the UE whenthe WLAN AP information is collected.
 12. The base station according toclaim 11, wherein after the base station sends the logged measurementconfiguration message to the UE according to the MDT measurementindication information, the receiver is further configured to: receivean MDT log from the UE, wherein the MDT log comprises the WLAN APinformation record.
 13. The base station according to claim 11, whereinafter the base station sends the RRC connection reconfiguration messageto the UE according to the MDT measurement indication information, thereceiver is further configured to: receive a measurement report from theUE, wherein the measurement report comprises the WLAN AP informationrecord.
 14. The base station according to claim 11, wherein the statusinformation of the UE comprises one or multiple types of the followinginformation: received signal power for the UE to receive a WLAN APsignal, geographic location information of the UE, or collection timefor the UE to collect the WLAN AP information.